When we moved into our current house one of the questions I had when setting up the office was, “Where are we going to put our books?!?!” Even in our very first apartment we had a bookcase. It was one of my very first projects and has followed us to all of our other homes since. It now resides in our garage for all of my tools 🙂
With 6 years of college for each of us, one residency, and both of us being a lover of reading (no e-readers for us!), it’s safe to say we’ve accumulated quite a collection of books. One that far exceeds the capabilities of the bookcase I made for our first apartment. When we moved into our current house we had plenty of room and took one of smaller bedrooms for our office, but finding a place for our books was probably more difficult than necessary. Why? Well, the bedroom had limited wall space. The door opens up into a short wall. The wall opposite has a window that takes up most of the wall. The longest side of the room had just enough room for the desk and the printer. Then there’s the wall with the closet opposite that…so what is a girl to do?
The office was one of the last places to be unpacked when we moved in. And mostly because I didn’t know what to do with our books! I didn’t want to create a space that didn’t feel right or had to be redone because it just felt wrong or didn’t flow correctly. We thought about a larger, mobile bookcase so if it needed to be moved it could. But there wasn’t really any wall room. I thought of a more permanent built-in bookcase, but again it would make the room smaller.
So…we FINALLY came to our senses and solved our problems when we looked around and found some untapped potential in the closet. It was a traditional closet with one board and one bar for clothes. We certainly weren’t using it for clothes, just storing our unpacked books. It was perfect! It would give us enough storage for our books and then some! And…it wouldn’t take a ton of money or time to construct!
With the length of the closet measured, off to the nearest hardware store we went! All you need to buy are enough boards and brackets for your space – very simple and inexpensive. When we got home we just cut the boards to size, installed the brackets, and placed the boards on top of the brackets – not an overly time consuming project. The only tools we used were a saw (you can even use a hand saw if that’s all you have), a drill, and some screws. It’s not an invasive a project either so if we converted the office back into a bedroom in the future the closet could be converted back into a closet.
If you find yourself struggling or becoming frustrated with a space, think outside the box. There might be some simple solutions that are just untapped and undiscovered because they are unconventional. Don’t just run out in haste and purchase a product because you’re fed up. You’ll just end up wasting your money and becoming more dissatisfied. Take the time to really think through the problem you are having with a space and be determined to find the best possible solution – brainstorm a bunch of ideas and weigh the pros and cons of each. You’ll be frustrated with the process, but when you choose the best possible solution you’ll be happy you didn’t rush through all of the other hasty, dissatisfying ideas that will only drain your wallet.
Are there any untapped, unconventional ideas you’ve incorporated into your design because it was the best solution for you and your lifestyle?
